living_steelfandomcom-20200214-history
Living Steel Wiki
Welcome to the Living Steel Wiki The Living Steel High-Tech Adventure Game from Leading Edge Games. History, rules and funny quotes! This database aims to be the most precise and detailed encyclopedia of the Living Steel universe. Revel in '80's science-fiction where spikes and Lase Rifles are the order of the day and marvel at a surprisingly deep and involving background. Please note that this wiki is currently in the works, so expect much more content to come! 'The Apocalypse and The Phoenix' The year is 2349, and the oppressive Starguild Imperium rules Humanity. Supported by a technological monopoly, the Guild has imposed a caste system on society, and most people are trapped in lives of endless work and little hope. It has been more than a century since the Starguild overwhelmed the dissenting voices of the free Seven Worlds system, and began its unchallenged reign. Status Report The year is 2349, and Humanity rules an interstellar empire. The development of a faster-than-light drive has led to the conquest and colonization of hundreds of systems, and to the creation of the Starguild Imperium. Nearly limitless electrical power and advances in medical technology have made it possible to create a paradise, but that paradise is only available to a select few. Humanity's society has degenerated into a caste system, ruled by the corporations of the Starguild. People are divided into three hereditary classes; Starcaste, Landcaste, and Bondsmen. The Starcaste consists of the members of the Starguild and, as the rulers of the Imperium, they are the only ones to fully benefit from Humanity's advances. Their stature is secured by their great wealth, their monopoly on advanced technology, and the military superiority that those things guarantee. They are served by the Landcaste, a class of people who oversee production and who manage the lives of the Bondsmen. The Bondsmen are by far the most numerous, and by far the least privileged. They are the common people, the ones who do the work and whose lives are filled with labor and struggle, but hold little hope. Humanity was not always a stagnant tool of the Starguild, however. Long ago, a single planetary system stood against the oppression of the Imperium. It was the Seven Worlds system, and its code of freedom and justice, and its refusal to compromise its ideals, drew the hatred of the Starguild. For decades, the Starguild attacked the Seven Worlds. Rebels and free spirits throughout known space rallied to the Seven Worlds to do battle with the Starcaste system, but they could not stand against the full might of the lmperium. In 2194 the Seven Worlds was defeated, and the lmperium attempted to consolidate its victory by recolonizing the system. Somehow the spirit of the Seven Worlds endured through these dark times, and occasionally surged into open rebellion. Throughout Humanity's holdings, however, the Starcaste system became entrenched, and the lmperium's power grew ever stronger. This trend continued until, in 2339, at the height of its power, the lmperium came under attack from Humanity's newest and most deadly enemy, the Spectrals. Jet-black, unthinking creatures bent on genocide, the SpectraIs shattered the Imperium. Their power was immense, and their abilities superhuman. The Starguild crumbled, its members abandoning each other to the enemy, as each corporation desperately tried to defend itself from the aliens. In the first quarter of 2349, the SpectraIs came to the troubled world of Rhand. On its surface, the Imperium was in the middle of attempting to discipline a rebellious Starcaste division, called Trident/RMBK. Negotiations were breaking down, and a war of espionage raged. In space, the fleets of the Imperium and Trident/RMBK faced off, awaiting the order to begin combat. At that critical moment, with tensions at their highest, the Spectrals entered the system. With the full attention of all the Humans in the system focussed on the struggle between Trident/RMBK and the Imperium, the Spectral craft was able to surprise and destroy the Human fleets. It then set about destroying the planet's industrial capacity. Power generators were smashed, communications disrupted, and factories, businesses, and warehouses bombed into rubble. The highly sophisticated network of experimental teleportation satellites was also ruined, and the Spectrals released combat teams, tons of armaments, and a particularly vicious virus near all population centers. Yet before the invasion was complete, the Spectral warship was destroyed. How this was accomplished remains a mystery, but it seemed to matter little; the bulk of the intended damage was already done. Within a few days, the planet's industry was crippled and its social structure utterly shattered. The majority of the population was infected by the virus, which rendered them permanently unstable and sociopathic. Those not infected now find themselves faced with the seemingly hopeless task of remaining alive in a world thrown into chaos. Hope and help does exist for these people, though, and it comes from an unexpected source. Many of the finest warriors and heroes of the Seven Worlds had been saved from its defeat, and placed in stasis to await a better time. Scattered across the planet, small groups of these heavily armed and specially trained people are waking from their century long sleep, and are emerging to lead the battle for Rhand. They have been released into Humanity's Apocalypse to form the nucleus of Operation Seven Swords. Their goal is to rebuild the civilization of the Seven Worlds from the turmoil of Rhand: a Phoenix rising from the ashes. Although they come from another time and place, they are the ideal champions for Humanity, because they are the bearers of a dream. A dream that makes them Living Steel.